


To See One's Destiny

by orphan_account



Category: Next Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers AU, Avengers Family, Creepy, Drama, Future, Future Character Death, Post-Apocalypse, SHIELD, Secrets, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Teenage Drama, Universe Alteration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-03-21 00:56:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13729713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Next Avengers find an old set of SHIELD records, written decades before, foretelling their future deaths. Now it's up to them to make sure that an obsolete agency can't dictate their destinies.





	1. Tunnels(1)-Discovery

James Rodgers was fighting for his life. 

The cold water sloshed around his knees, spraying his skin with its icy touch. Under normal circumstances, he would have flinched away from the droplets, but seeing as he could die at any moment, there were more pressing matters to attend to than just some freezing water. 

Robots crowded the old subway tunnel, mechanical clicks creating a deafening roar in their numbers. Robotic eyes gleamed, flashing against metal. There was malice in their unblinking stares; the need to consume -- to kill.  

As he punched, kicked, and flailed about, James could feel exhaustion weighing down his every movement. He had been fighting a war of attrition for hours in the hope that, at some point, Ultra City would just simply run out of robots. In the darkness, there was no way to count or to see how many he had destroyed, or how many had yet to come. All he knew was that it didn't seem like he'd even put a dent in their numbers. 

Nearby, Francis was in a similar predicament. Exhausted of arrows, the other boy had taken up a chunk of old piping and was clubbing anything that came into range. Several meters away, and below the tunnel's sole light source, the outline of his tired and desperate expression was framed eerily in the darkness. The shine of metal surrounded him, twinkling in the light like stars in the night sky, already piled high. 

James spun, following a practiced pattern of movement. In one swing, he flipped a robot over his shoulder, forcing it to the ground in a shower of sparks as it collided with two of its partners. With a swift blow from his shield, he dispatched the target, vibranium cleaving through metal with ease. A metallic claw suddenly grasped his ankle and he went down hard, falling face-first into the water. Unprepared for its shocking cold, he cried out, bubbles streaming from his lips and frothing about his face. 

There was a robot on top of him, pushing him deeper into the water. James could feel its weight, the hard metal pressing down on his spine, digging into his jacket. Thrashing, he struggled to free himself. His lungs burned like fire. 

 _Air!_ He thought.  _I need air!_

 

The more he struggled, the weaker he began to feel. He was exhausted and the water was so heavy. His arms were so tired...  _He_ was so tired...

Pinned and weakening by the second, James's went limp. A part of him was screaming for control, trying to wake himself up; the other was falling, succumbing to that terrible weakness. His head hit the stone of the tunnel floor and his eyes closed.

 

James didn't know how long it had been. Had he blacked out? Or was it just his imagination? All he knew was that he was that his world had exploded. He felt his body being lifted and thrown from the water, the weight atop him tossed aside like a ragdoll. He flew, half-conscious, barely registering what was happening around him. 

Too late, his brain decided to wake up. He saw a wall,  _felt_ the wall, then saw darkness. 

This time, he knew that he was unconscious. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"James!"_

_"Where are you, man?"_

_"I am sorry to hit thee!"_

_"Man, Tony is going to be so pissed if you've died on us!"_

 

 

Groaning, James felt every bone in his body throb in pain. His head was spinning. And why couldn't he breathe properly? Rolling over, he retched. Water spewed from his mouth and nose. It was as though his face were melting. 

_That's right, I was drowning..._

His head spun and pounded, but that was nothing compared to his lungs. As he struggled to rid himself of the water he'd taken in, his chest burned like fire. Sweat -or water- dripped from his face, hot and sticky. When doused in water, he had been freezing. Now, coughing his lungs out, he felt as though he were in a sauna. Finally, after what felt like hours of choking, his breathing began to even out. Though his throat burned, the awful weight on his chest had lightened. 

 

There was something behind him, an odd construct of some sort that he couldn't see in all the darkness, and he leaned back against it. God, he was tired and everything either burned or ached. It struck him that -had he not had super-soldier blood- he would have died right then. For some reason, the thought sent chills down his spine. 

 

 

James could still remember life before they’d been discovered by Ultron. Events had gone by so fast... He remembered waking up in the morning to the songbirds in the forest and the wind through the trees. The laughter and voices of the team outside had always irritated him. He could never have dreamed that he'd miss such peaceful times, even if the "peace" was one big lie. 

 

"James!" 

 

Torunn's voice shattered the silence, loud and yet far away. James was too tired to jump, though the shout had surprised him. He merely twitched. Every bone in his body longed for him to respond, to let her know that he was alright.

But if he did, that would also be a lie. As he sat there, the heaviness in his heart returned, a weight that he'd tried to keep locked in the corner of his mind for so long... 

 

    It had been one  _year_ since Ultron's fall.

    Seven months since the rescue of the surviving humans around Ultra city.

    Five months since he'd realized that he loved Torunn.

    Two months since they'd started fighting.

    One week since he'd seen the other half of his team because of this stupid mission to clear out Ultra City of robots. 

He was far from "alright".

They all were far from "alright", in their different ways. 

 

James could hear Torunn and Francis. Clearly, there were still robots about, for the sound of combat threatened to drown everything out. Even so, snippets of their panicked conversation could be heard. Just the sound of the archer's voice made his heart sink. 

_"Are you alright, friend Francis?"_

_"Just fine, beautiful. Where's James? I saw him just a few seconds before you came in."_

_"Did I hit him? I could only see...you."_

 

Francis's sigh echoed against the tunnel walls, even audible above the sounds of combat. 

_"Uh, Torunn, I'm pretty sure he was almost right underneath you when you came down."_

_"No!"  
_

James could hear the anguish in her voice, the pain that she felt at the thought of hurting him. For some reason, this brought his spirits up.

 

 _Maybe she does still care... maybe our fight didn't destroy everything..._  

 

He opened his eyes again. The darkness remained as impenetrable as ever. Reaching down, he fumbled at his belt. Earlier in the robot fight, there had been no opportunity to use the old flashlight. Now, however, there didn't seem to be any imminent threat to his life. 

Finding the metal cylinder was easy. With fumbling fingers, James flicked it to life, issuing a silent thanks to Tony who had insisted he take only waterproof electronics. 

 _"The tunnels will most likely be flooded, don't be an idiot!"_ He had said,  _"back in the old days, your father was always harassing us about being prepared."_

_Thank god for that._

 

With mild irritation, he realized that his holographic shield was stil activated. Impatiently, he fumbled with his gauntlet until it disappeared with a  _click_. 

Sighing, James heaved himself to his feet and began to scan the room. He could still hear Francis and Torunn calling his name. In a wave of savage pleasure, he attempted to mentally block the sound. They could wait and get along just fine  _without_ him. That, he was sure of. 

 

He had fallen into a room some ten to twelve feet below the old tunnel. The hole in the wall -his entry point- was dripping slightly, but clearly higher than the water level above. For that, James was profoundly grateful. Around him was a mess of old crates and boxes, mixed with the chunks of fallen ceramic tile. Running the flashlight's narrow beam across the ceiling, James took in the massive chunks missing there. Pieces of the puzzle began to make sense, fitting together the more he looked about. 

All evidence pointed toward the place being some kind of an old storage room. Across from him was an exit, marked by an old -and broken- door. Well-sealed crates were stacked in every corner, void of any markings. On top of them lay a fine layer of dust, thick and untouched. Sections of missing ceiling where the tiling had fallen, standing out like scars against the intact wall nearby. James ran his fingers across it, feeling its surface with an ungloved hand. This confirmed his suspicions. The wall was a kind of mortar, very hard and durable in nature. Whatever had managed to crack it must have been extremely powerful. An earthquake, maybe?

Tony had briefed them all on the history of New York City, the place now called "Ultra City". The first assault that the AI had made was a large airstrike that leveled the place to the ground. It had only been in the nick of time that the Avengers had managed to get everyone out. Tony had described it as "one of the darkest days the Avengers had ever seen." 

Looking at the damage to the ceiling and walls, James tried to imagine what it must have been like. Thousands of hacked government weapons had been fired on the city. According to all Tony's records -which had yet to be proved inaccurate- there had not been anything of that power ever loosed on the city since. There was no way that Ultron could have done it, the city had already been leveled; none of the new buildings had foundations deep enough. Plus, the dust was consistent all across the floor, with only disturbance being where James had entered the room.

 

"Hey! There's light over there!" Came Francis's voice from above. 

James hissed through his teeth, suddenly more tired than ever. Dealing with the archer was one of the  _last_ things that he wanted to do at the moment; Torunn, maybe, but they'd been trying to avoid each other ever since the argument... 

Resignedly waiting for the inevitable, James strode toward the doorway, all the while listening to his teammates sloshing towards the room. 

 

_Can't they just leave me alone?_

 

"There you are!" Torunn's voice came from the hole in the wall and James turned, plastering his best imitation of a smile on his face, "are you alright?"

James sighed, "yeah, I'm fine." 

 

Francis slowly lowered himself into the room, powering up his own flashlight once he got to the bottom. 

"What's this?" He asked, his voice even. 

"Dunno," replied James, "probably from before the airstrike, by the looks of it."

Torunn leaped to stand next to them. 

"There are no more robots outside," she reported, "the cowards fled." 

 

James did not reply, examining the broken door. It was of a thick metal and, though intact overall, broken at the hinges, merely hanging by a few screws in the top. He put the flashlight between his teeth and leaned forwards. Gripping the door at the sides, James pulled, grunting as his tired muscles throbbed. With a groan, the attachments gave way, coming free with a loud scraping sound. He lowered it to the ground slowly, pausing only to let the heavy metal fall to the ground with a muted  _crash_. 

Taking the light from his mouth, James aimed it forwards, peering into the dusty hall beyond. He carefully stepped over the door to examine a small sign just outside. Wordlessly, Torunn and Francis followed.

 

[STORAGE]

-1 B-

 

They exchanged looks. 

 

"SHIELD?" Asked Francis, raising his eyebrows. 

James nodded, "strategic homeland...  _something._ I don't remember it all. Some big global defense system that helped out our parents sometimes."

"I thought their base was destroyed," mused Torunn, folding her arms.

"I'm pretty sure we thought  _a lot_ of things that turned out to be wrong," said Francis, shooting James a look, "some more than others." 

"Hah, _right,_ " James grunted, turning to face the dark hall, "I'm going to explore this place, if you guys want to come, fine, but if not-"

"-are you sure this is a good id-"

James fixed his best glare on Francis. The archer stopped and raised his hands in mock surrender, "fine, fine, fine! I'll go if you go. Lead the way."

That was it. He was exhausted, in pain, and his patience had been pushed to its limit. James felt heat rising in his face.

"Well, apparently I have to! You're not-" 

Without warning, Torunn uttered a sharp hiss of exasperation and shouldered past both of them, wrestling the flashlight from Francis's grasp as she passed him. James yelped as her shoulder plate hit him hard in the chest. Francis stumbled back 

"Sometimes I wish I could strangle you both, you know?" And with that, she plunged into the darkness. 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Tunnels(2)-Aches and Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James deals with team drama and more.

 

The hall was dark and gloomy, much like the subway tunnel that they had just left. Dust covered the floor with a thick layer of dark powder that slowly rose around James's ankles as he strode forward. In many situations, the thought of getting lost would have made the group hesitate. This time, however, they were not too worried. Unless the tunnel came with a built-in wind machine, there wasn't much of a chance for them to lose track of their footprints. 

For the last five minutes, James, Torunn, and Francis had been walking in tense silence. They had not passed a single indication of a side-passage or room. For some reason, James found this to be somewhat unnerving. Clearly, Francis felt the same agitation, for the archer had begun to fidget with his bow; James couldn't decide what was more irritating, the sound of the silence around them or the tapping that followed. 

His brain about to explode, James finally broke the silence. 

"How much longer do you think this passage is? It might be good if we turn back," he said cautiously, aware that he was walking a fine line. After all, his relationship with the other two was tense, at best. 

 

Francis grunted, "no idea."

Torunn said nothing. 

 

Internally, James squirmed. That had  _not_ helped. He thought about a time -about two years ago to be exact- when there had not been such conflict or drama. For one, Francis had not been there. More than anyone, James blamed the archer for the chaos. The guy was cool and far more confident when it came to talking to Torunn. Something that James had never been able to achieve when discussing his emotions. 

God, his body hurt. James barred his teeth. While his lungs still felt like they'd been run over by a car and his head ached, there were aches and pains popping up in places that hadn't hurt originally; for instance, when had he ever messed up his ankle? Every step sent jolts of pain up his leg. It was only through sheer concentration that he was able to avoid limping. 

 

_Damn, Torunn certainly didn't hold back this time. She almost killed me... I think..._

 

Deeply involved in his own thoughts, James did not see that Torunn had stopped, almost colliding with her. Francis suppressed a snort of laughter and James glared at him, feeling heat rush across his face. Looking around, James quickly saw the reason for the abrupt halt. 

They were at a crossroads. To the left, there was an archway with an open ramp leading downwards to a large room. Curiously, James aimed his flashlight into the darkness. He saw several long tables. 

"Looks like some kind of food court this way," James said out loud, "strange."

Francis had begun to examine the door on the right. Looking over his shoulder, James watched the archer's progress. The label next to the door was severely faded, but the words, "STORAGE 1C," were still clearly visible. James turned and walked over to the other boy.

Wordlessly, Francis gripped the doorknob and tried to open the door. The knob would turn but the door remained locked. He tried turning the knob the other direction.  Nothing.  

"Damn," the archer hissed. 

"What do they have to hide?" Torunn wondered aloud, having walked back to them from farther down the hall.

James shrugged, "we don't even know what this place even is, really." 

 

Francis had resorted to rattling the door on its hinges. The sheer amount of sound that came from the struggle was making James's hair stand on end. Maybe he was just paranoid, but he couldn't help feeling that they should remain quiet. For all he knew, there could be people watching. 

"Isn't there a better way to do this?" He asked Francis, feeling anxiety prickling down his spine.  

"Gah, of course, you'd ask that," came the grumbled response, "do you really think-"

"-here, let me," said Torunn, pushing between them. Without hesitation, she gripped the side of the door with her fingers and pulled. The door ripped away from the wall at the hinges and came down with a crash. 

Francis and James stumbled backward. James stumbled, his ankle throbbing. Hitting the opposite wall, he sank down to one knee, rubbing his foot gingerly. In front of him, Francis sat down hard, his tailbone meeting the flooring with a dull _crack_. A blast of musty air and dust assaulted the trio. James coughed, his nose feeling as though it were filled with pepper. Next to him, Francis shot Torunn an indignant look.

"Was that really necessary?" The archer demanded, brushing himself off. His platinum blond hair was caked with dust. 

 

Torunn just shrugged in reply and strode into the room, running the flashlight over its interior. Almost immediately, she froze, her face draining of color. 

"Wha-what is it?" Demanded Francis, brushing off his hair and stumbling in an effort to stand up so quickly. 

 

Using the wall for support, James hauled himself to his feet. He swayed at first but found balance. Standing, he could see into the room that Torunn's flashlight was revealing. 

It was some kind of an office,  _clearly_ not storage. Like room 1B, it had cracks lining its edges, but instead of the raw damage that the other room had held, this one was far more organized. Crates lined the walls, but did not block the messy desk inside. In the center, a smaller box had been broken open, its contents strewn across the floor. From what James could see, there was nothing unusual. 

"Torunn, what..." His voice trailed off as he approached the door. 

His breath hitched in his throat. Invisible until practically in the doorframe, the body was placed behind the desk, splayed out on the floor like some graphic rag doll. Tablets, papers, and various other objects covered the area around him. 

James made his way around the desk, shouldering past a statue-like Francis in order to enter the room. He knelt down, inspecting the body. Just looking at it made his skin crawl. 

Obscured by the crescent-shaped desk, the man had clearly been in hiding for a while. A sort of small living-space had been created behind the bulk of the desk. Packets of emergency supplies were stacked there, some empty, while others were clearly unused. Blankets, water flasks, papers, and tablets took up the rest of the space there. 

He was about to stand up again when something caught his eye. A name listed on one of the papers:

 

"... Rodgers..." 

 

James froze, his eyes going wide as he skimmed the passage. There were multiple mentions of a name there, one that he knew very well. 

_'Rodgers'_

 

"See anything?" Asked Francis. 

Looking up at the other boy, James opened his mouth to reply, hesitating as thought of what to say. 

"Not really," he replied, the lie sinking in his gut, "can you guys try and find the generator for this place? I want to keep looking around but it might be helpful to see..." 

Francis and Torunn exchanged looks. 

"Are you sure there is one nearby?" Asked Torunn, speaking for the first time in a while.

"There has to be," Francis replied, "I heard about places like this. Many of them were safe houses for government agencies and stuff. Had to be powered off the grid. My guess is that there's a power source nearby... if it's not destroyed." 

"We should tell Tony about this place, he might know it!" Said Torunn.

James nodded slowly, "yeah."

Folding his arms, Francis frowned, "Hmph, whatever then. I guess Torunn and I will look for the generator."

 

Heart sinking further at the hostile tone, James sighed. 

"I think I will stay here," Torunn said softly, "I wish to explore this room." 

Francis huffed and aimed an icy glare at James who looked away. 

"Fine!" The archer slammed his hand down onto the desk, "I'll go."

James chanced a glance at him, just in time to catch the angry expression plastered on the boy's face. 

 

Snatching the paper up from the floor, James was about to begin reading when he heard Torunn approach. 

"We should deal with the body," she said shortly, stopping right next to him. 

James looked up at Torunn and nodded, not meeting her eyes. A part of him dreaded being in the same room as her, and yet he was grateful for her company. It was a confusion of emotions that he could not explain. 

Slowly, James pulled himself to his feet. Just as he put weight on his foot, his ankle popped. Pain shot up his leg causing his knee to buckle. He gasped and caught himself on the desk. Torunn was instantly at his side, her arms supporting him. 

"You are not alright," she said. It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. 

"I'm fine!" He tried to shrug out of her grip and nearly succeeded in cracking his teeth on the nearest filing cabinet. 

 

Once again, Torunn caught him. 

"James Rodgers, you are  _not_ alright!" She hissed and shoved him bodily on top of the desk. 

"I'm fine!" James glared up at her. 

Torunn looked at him directly in the eye. Roughly she jabbed at his leg. Her finger didn't hit as hard as he thought but still carried enough power to create a powerful burning sensation as it brushed the injury, earning a sharp breath. 

"You will stay put," she growled, before turning to attend to the body. Effortlessly, she dragged the man across the floor and out into the hallway, leaving him just outside. The movement left a wide track in the dust. 

The task completed, she brushed off her hands and returned to James's side. 

 

He tried to ignore her as she returned, avoiding her eyes and attempting to bury himself in the paper in front of him. Torunn maintained silence, poking around the room in search of more clues. Her shoulders were hunched, her hair covering her face. 

James sighed, the letters blurring before his eyes. The air was heavy with guilt. It was practically rolling off of her. 

 

 

"Torunn," James sighed, "it's not your fault. It was just an accident, you know that! There was no way you could've known I was down there. We have no comms, no formal warning system. Those tunnels are deep enough to disrupt everything we -"  

Torunn turned back to face him, "what are you holding?" She asked. Her expression looked forced. 

James looked down, "oh... this? I picked it up a few minutes ago. Been trying to read it." 

Of course, he did not mention that he was extremely distracted...or that he had been reading the same line over and over again since she'd last said anything. 

"There's writing on the other side, looks like this side was just a journal entry of some kind. Looked interesting though..." His voice trailed off as Torunn took the paper from his hand, her expression curious. 

She held the paper to the flashlight and turned it over.

 

Similar to all the other pages that had they'd collected, this one was in rough shape. Spots on the paper were rendered incomprehensible from various scribbled patterns, while others had been chopped off due to rips and tears in the paper. Even more sections had been subjected to weathering and were faded into lettering almost too light to see. 

James squinted hard and traced the first line with his finger. Beside him, Torunn drew in closer. His heart beat in his throat. Maybe the anticipation of the letter? Or was it Torunn? 

Didn't matter...

All he knew was that, as he read, the heaviness in his heart grew with every line. 

 

_This is the third day I've been stuck in the old headquarters. Not expecting anyone to see this for a while and I'm out of things to do. Worth writing down this stuff, anyway.          Right?          Two weeks since Captain America and         Panther left SHIELD  advance            ... Can't seem to find              Romanov, we fear that she's been lost.     Strange to see that our files are so accurate. Couldn't show them to anyone because of           discrepancies...  Banned                show_

_files      Fury wants the kids to be taken to ------------  S--- can't tell place, can I?       Can't let robots get here, can't risk it. I barred the door._

 

_Fifth day            *          been here too o o long. Not enough*f*       8                **                  _        can't find water *       can hear outside and others are starving. Stark just brought news that_

_they'd run_ _bots        **       ****         clear       hopefully      **     war can be won    *         t.      **     Cap ***   eam    s found in    New      k  by          *ision. Half were  lose to death_ _*d ***_

 _Most didn't_ _ave a   m        **_ _family to care for.  We took care of them but had to turn away many... so many refugees       Captain Rodgers   might be alive.   *********            ***_

_He    ** as   ***   m    ing .  *     presumed dead._

 

_It's the eighth day I've been here... Finally found a section that's safer. Found food, water... yesterday ... I don't know            ****               been too weak to write       **       ************_

_Pym_ _found me_ _Something tells me that this will be my final position. Mess hall is right in front but I don't think they'll notice that an extra storage room is locked     **  hope_

 _esc***         too much pressure._ _Had to transport most letters with me, if we fall than all I can hope is that someone finds these le           **               ********************_

_pages ripped by my bag, my apologies._

 

_Captain Rodgers confirmed dead today... Stark  gone. That  makes only the Black Panther and Pym here.   Barton took the underground tunnels  *********     ret        m     ** edition_

_presumed dead._

 

_H   *   less ***_

 

_I can hear robots._

 

_I think they're coming._

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Flashback-Mistakes

_2 months prior..._

_-Location: ruins outside of  Ultra City-_

 

 

He was seething, anger boiling through his veins. 

 

_Girls._

 

Only a few minutes prior, he'd been facing Torunn, grappling with the emotions inside of him. He'd  _finally_ been able to work up the courage to tell say that he liked her -- or so he thought. Right up until that moment, he'd been ready for anything. Then the moment came and he could not form the words, standing there like a statue. The moment passed. He'd failed and she'd stood there, expecting some explanation, looking at him with those wide, curious eyes. 

Naturally, Francis had come along shortly after to call them to dinner, diverting Torunn's attention. James would have much preferred that the archer had punched him, it would have made things so much simpler. He would have welcomed the fight. 

 

Kicking a rock with all his might, James growled through his teeth. 

 

_Stupid._

_Stupid._

_I had the chance right in front of me! And I didn't take it!_

 

They were in one of the nicer areas on the out outskirts of Ultra city, abandoned and destroyed; yet still holding its spirit, despite the skeletal skyscrapers standing around it at random intervals. Grass had taken over most of the ground, growing in small tufts that managed to poke through the cracks in the cement. For such a desolate, deserted, and lifeless place, it certainly didn't seem to carry the 'chill' factor that the rest of the city shared. On sunny days, the team would often find themselves returning to the place. On those days, the sun would filter through the buildings and create warm patches of sun down on the ground. For James, it was as close to ‘home’ as Ultra City could provide.

The Quinjet was only a block away when the first robots began appearing. With only a split second's warning, James was able to dive in front of Francis as a bolt of energy slammed into the pair. Torunn, who had summoned her sword, instantly leaped into action, hurling herself at the oncoming attackers. 

It figured that at their only time of solace, their enemies chose to attack. To James, it certainly seemed that way. 

As more robots flooded the area, the comms burst with static, making his right ear ring from the sheer volume. Cursing, he pulled the device from his ear and shoved it into his pocket. Behind him, Francis did the same, yelling a stream of colorful swear words as he readied his bow. 

"They're jamming us!" He yelled. 

_You should have told her._

James let out a roar and smashed his shield down on the neck of the nearest robot, throwing sparks into the air as the machine broke apart under the force of the blow. He gritted his teeth as some of the bright shrapnel met his skin. 

_Failure. How embarrassing._

He didn't even realize what was happening until Francis tackled him around the knees, bringing James crashing down, barely clearing the path of a grenade thrown by one of Ultron's 'crowd control' bots. The ground vibrated when it detonated, a safe distance away, but still close enough to hurt the ears. 

"Get your head in the game!" Cried the archer, kicking a pile of fried circuitry off of himself, "these things are everywhere!" 

"My head  _is_ in the game!" James retorted as be bashed the nearest robot in the head. 

 _Liar,_ said his brain. 

"Gah!"

James turned around just in time to see another wave of bots approaching, pouring out of a nearby abandoned building. Looking at their design, they looked to be more of the short-ranged bots that surrounded them.  Cursing, he yelled at Francis, getting the boy's attention and pointing at the incoming threat. Standing a solid fifty yards closer to the building, Francis was standing right in the line of fire. Screaming something incomprehensible, the archer began to sprint towards James, away from the new danger. Nearby, Torunn crunched a group of assailants under her sword she waved at them.

All the streets surrounding the 'happy' part of the city were desolate, despairing places. Following the highway -something that the three of them had done- lead to a sad boulevard area notorious for its lack of cover. To the left, a small garden area led to a roundabout, sporting a small hill that had, at one point, sported a beautiful patch of flowers. Standing upon it now, however, yielded nothing but a green-tinted expanse of dried grass. 

"We must hurry!" The girl exclaimed as they neared. 

"Go ahead and warn the others!"  James panted as he dragged himself up the small hill to her side.

"We'll be right behind you!" Added Francis, equally exhausted and out of breath. 

With one last glance at the pair of them, Torunn took off into the sky, leaping an entire city block with ease. James found himself jealous of the feat, feeling the aching of his legs and the burning of the cuts on his skin. He and Francis, who had to be experiencing about the same amount of discomfort, would have to walk... at least until the Quinjet -hopefully- could pick them up. Heart sinking, James looked back at the street behind them. 

Was it his imagination or were there more robots than before? Squinting, he caught sight of several new silhouettes among the crowd. It took a moment, but soon one came into full view. He groaned aloud. While the other robots were heavily shielded and slower, these bots were darker and smaller, built lighter and sporting a long thin energy weapon. 

_Assassins._

_Supposedly the ones that killed dad..._  

"Run!" He yelped.

Francis did not need to be told twice. Launching himself forwards, he pelted down the street, James barely managing to keep pace with his shorter legs. Fire peppered the ground around them, some narrowly missing their bodies as they tore down the city block. Running between the bots and Francis, it took a tremendous effort just to block a few of the deadly energy shots. It soon became clear, however, that luck was not on his side. As they reached a street corner, Francis skittered, blood splattering the pavement. He stumbled, his left leg giving way.

Not caring about how rough he was, James grabbed the other boy by the collar of his shirt, hauling him back to his feet, shoving him forwards and out of the line of fire. Before the archer could hit the ground, however, James had caught up, grasping his friend by the upper arms and -more gently- bringing him back to a standing position. Shoving James off of him, Francis stood for a moment, before doubling over and compromising by hopping on his left foot while holding onto James's shoulder for support. 

As they passed into the safety of the neighboring street, it became apparent that their pace was far too slow for any hope of escape.  

"Damnnit!" The archer cried, his frustration reaching a breaking point, "of all times, why now?" 

The sound of hundreds of mechanical limbs hitting the ground was growing closer. If they stopped, they'd be shot dead within seconds. 

James looked down at the wound, feeling Francis's hand trembling on his shoulder. The only good news was that the boy's foot hadn't been completely blown off. It was obvious that it was quite severe...

 

A roar filled the air and both of them jumped. That tenseness, however, melted into relief as James looked up to see the Quinjet descending towards them, landing in between them and the robots. The ramp lowered, revealing an impatient Azari, beckoning them with wide, scared eyes. Francis took that moment to push James away, leaning on the side of the building instead. 

 

 

_We're saved._

 

_Now, where's Torunn?_

 

James was about to turn and help Francis back up to the ship when, out of nowhere, she appeared, swooping down from the skies to join them. Carefully, Torunn wrapped her arm around Francis's shoulders, allowing him to lean on her for support. 

A curl of jealousy twisted inside James's stomach. He tried to swallow the bitter taste rising in his mouth. 

 

_He's my friend. Stop it!_

 

"Hurry!" Came Tony's desperate voice from the ship, "this area is overrun!" 

 

Sprinting forward, James followed Francis and Torunn's retreating backs. He was about to the ship when Henry screamed.

"Look out!" 

 

The world exploded around them. 

 

In later months, James would only recall two things from the following events. The first of which being the assassin droids seemingly floating out of the clouds of smoke like ghosts, their energy weapons unloading into his shield as he struggled to cover himself. The second: the bullet that ricocheted off of the holographic material, shot point blank from its robotic owner, meeting Henry's body with a dull 'thunk'. 

 

The barrage of self-doubt and blame began right then and there, marking the starting line for James's self-imposed 'exile' from the team... 

_"Your head wasn't in the game."_

_"Get it together."_

_"You failed."_

 

 

_"You could have done better."_

 

 

 


End file.
